Barriers
by Bikerboycarl
Summary: This is a rewrite and relaunch of a story I started before. Chapter 5 is up. The story teams Buffy and the scoobies with a group of people they know, but who don't know them. Please R & R.
1. Impact

Continuity: Takes place in season 4 of Buffy. Everything remains the same, with the following exceptions; after the death of Maggie Walsh, Riley is made head of the Initiative and given the task of hunting down and eliminating Adam. For a back story reason I have yet to decide, the Scoobys' are aware of Tara as a witch and friend of Willow, but not of their growing relationship.  
  
Disclaimer: I do not own Buffy the vampire slayer, any associated characters, places, events and any other materials related to it. They are the creation of Joss Whedon. I thank him for creating this marvellous universe, which we can all enjoy. I also do not own the other series mentioned in this story (I know that I should name it, but I don't want to spoil the surprise!), including characters, places, objects, institutions and other materials related to it.  
  
Spoilers: Anything up to the end of "The I in Team" of season four of Buffy.  
  
  
  
Chapter 1: "Impact"  
  
Silently, she moved through the shadows, not making a sound. Stalking. They were near, she knew it, knew it in the core of her being. There, a whimper in that clearing. Swiftly yet silently she moved through the trees. The darkness caused by the overhanging branches parted as she grew nearer the clearing, bright moonlight shining down, casting an eerie light over the events unfolding before her eyes. There in the centre of the clearing was Willow, tied to an old tree stump. And there, over to the left, was Xander, Anya and Tara, held within a magical cage. Around the perimeter stood a dozen robed demons, with a thirteenth crouched in the centre of a circle of candles, intoning some spell or other. She knew that she, and definitely Willow, didn't want to find out what it would do. Probably something extremely unpleasant. She moved. Darting into the clearing, she threw the two daggers' she'd had in her hands, heard the satisfying thud of them meeting their marks. Two of the demons keeled over, the daggers' protruding from their foreheads. Now the others responded, charging towards her and drawing vicious looking short-swords from inside their robes. She ran at full pelt straight towards the demon in front of her. At the last moment she leapt high into the air, twisting in mid-flight and drawing the sword from its sheath on her back. Even as she landed facing the demons back she was swinging the sword in a vicious arc that connected solidly. Before the creature's head had hit the ground she had turned to face a new threat. Two demons were running at her from different sides. She turned and faced one, wielding the sword high over her head. As soon as it was close enough she brought the sword down, cleaving his head in two. At the same moment her right leg snapped backwards, catching the demon in its chest and knocking it back. She pulled the sword free from the dead demons head. As soon as it was out she swung around, the sword flashing in the moonlight as it decapitated another demon. The demon she had kicked staggered to its' feet just in time for her fist to connect with its' face, followed by a swift kick to the abdomen and then her sword pierced it's heart. As she withdrew and whirled to face the remaining demons, the chanting grew louder. Instinct told her that whatever she was going to do would have to be done soon or it would be too late. The remaining demons had formed a wall, shielding old-chanty from her attacks. Suddenly, the clearing was filled with a flash of green light and one of the demons keeled over, the blade of one of his fallen brethren sticking out through his chest. Distracted, the demons magick had weakened, allowing Tara to break the spell holding her and the others. Then she heard Xander screaming and saw him run towards one of the demons and leap onto its' back. It staggered about, trying to shake him off. Then Anya started clubbing it over the head with a thick branch. Caught off guard by the sudden assault, the demons turned to face this new threat. Taking her opportunity, Buffy charged, the sword cleaving through the air once again, decapitating another two demons. Then another sword flew through the air, impaling a demon, which had been about to decapitate Anya, in the back of the head. She looked over and saw Tara staring intently at the fallen creature. Man, I love Wiccans', thought Buffy. A roar snapped her attention back to the battle. A sudden thump and a sigh of relief told her that Anya and Xander had dealt with their foe. That left two more and old-chanty. The demons started and turned around as a voice came from the shadows: "Did I miss all the fun?" "Spike! Keep these two busy - I have to get to Willow!" "Oh good, it's being sooo long since I had a fight! I was getting bored" quipped Spike, wading into the two demons, fists flying. She heard the satisfying crunch of bones breaking. She broke into a run and leapt over the fight, landing four feet behind the last demon who had stood up and was advancing on the unconscious form of Willow, a vicious looking dagger in his right hand, a small silver bowl in his left. "Hey, Chanty!" shouted Buffy. The demon whirled around, just in time for her fist to connect with his face. He staggered back, the bowl and dagger falling to the ground. In the background she heard a snap, followed by the sound of a body hitting the dirt. So it wasn't Spike - he would have just made a WHUMPF! noise as he exploded into dust. So she carried on, whirling into a roundhouse kick that snapped the demons head back. He staggered again, falling to his knees. The sword swung down and then his head was rolling at her feet. She turned around in time to see Spike put his fist through the last demons chest and rip it's heart out. He turned to face her and held out the heart: "A present for you luv." He grinned. "Spike, that's revolting." she said, a look of disgust marring her pretty face. "Hi Buff." a weak voice said behind them, stopping Spike in mid-sentence. Buffy turned round and there was Willow, leaning on Tara. "Willow! You're alright!" She cried, folding her friend into a gentle hug so as not to hurt her. "Yeah, just a little dizzy, that's all." the red-haired Wicca said, right before she slumped, her legs giving away beneath her. "That's it, you're going to Giles" from her tone, everyone knew Buffy wouldn't take no for an answer. Plus, she was right.  
  
**********  
  
He stood and stared into the darkness, classical music playing softly in the background. Six months. He still couldn't believe it. Six months it had taken to repair the damage done, both to the ship and the family that was her crew. Many of that family were gone, never to grace her deck plates again. So he stared, lost in his thoughts. Suddenly he was thrown to the floor by a violent jolt. As he staggered to his feet he looked into the darkness, only it wasn't. The black had been replaced by a bright, strobing green light. Everything shuddered again. He strode through the door, into the nerve centre of HIS ship. His crew looked up from their duty stations momentarily; glad to see that their captain was all right. "Status" that one word brought a curt yet polite and concise reply from his Executive Officer. "Very well. Transfer auxiliary powe..." Suddenly everything was bathed in a green light that grew in intensity and then vanished in a sudden and extremely bright flash. At the same instant, they were rocked by another jolt; this one so violent that everyone not sat in a chair was thrown to the floor. Then the lights flickered once and failed...  
  
**********  
  
As Giles pottered in the kitchen, rustling up another round of tea no- doubt, Buffy walked over to where Willow lay on the sofa. "Well, Tara, is she going to be ok?" Buffy asked anxiously. "She s-should be" replied the shy Wicca. "Should be! Can't you just cast, like, a healing mojo on her or something?" She demanded. Anya looked up from the heavy, leather bound book she was reading. "Hey, she did her best. Which is better than yours' - all you do is stab things!" she said, calmly and evenly. Oddly, Buffy found this angered her more. Why couldn't she scream like anyone else? "Ha! This from little miss 'I used to curse men just for the fun o..." her tirade was interrupted by a voice from the sofa "Now, now ladies. Calm down, the young luv needs her rest, not you two silly sods bickering all day." "Spike!" Buffy said sharply "will you keep out of this?!" "No." the bleached-blonde vampire said flatly "Look, you know I'm right luv. Plus I'd really like some peace and quite myself." She was about to argue with him when Giles came in carrying a tray of tea, setting it down on the coffee table, which, Buffy supposed, was inaccurately named because a cup of coffee had probably never graced its surface in all the time it had resided at Giles' place. "Here, drink this" he said, handing a cup to Willow, who had propped herself up. "Ah, here are the cookies" he said as Olivia entered the room carrying a second tray. She sat it down next to the first, and then sat herself next to Giles, slipping her hand into his. As the gang swooped down on the plate like a swarm of locusts, Spike slipped into the kitchen for a few moments and returned with a mug of blood. As he sat down on the couch the door to Giles' apartment opened and Riley entered. He glared at Spike and then turned to face Buffy. "Still harbouring a hostile, Buffy?" "Riley, he helped save Willow. I think he's earned a bit of our trust. I think he's changed." Spike snorted, pulled a cigarette from it's pack and placed it to his lips. As he flicked his lighter open Giles cleared his throat. "Would you mind not doing that in here" he said. Spike looked at him sharply. "What, you didn't object to the blood before" Giles sighed and pushed his glasses back up. "I meant the cigarette, you bloody idiot" Spike looked down at the cigarette in his hand "Oh, right" he said, placing the fag behind his ear. He looked around the group and stood up "Well, I'm going to do a sweep. That little scuffle has got me all worked up. See if I can find something to beat up." Riley stood as well "I think I'll go with him - make sure he doesn't cause any trouble." Buffy glared at him for a moment then he disappeared into another room. A minute or two later he re-appeared, decked out in full military combat gear, complete with M16 and one of the Initiative's taser guns. "Okay, lets' go" He said, heading for the door. Spike smiled and followed him out the door.  
  
**********  
  
The entire bridge was filled with thick, black, acrid smoke. As he staggered to his feet, he put a hand to his head and felt blood against his fingertips. He coughed in the smoke. "Emergency lights" He spoke into the air. At his command, thin red lighting strips around the edge of the ceiling came to life, bathing the scene in an eerie, crimson light. He reached down and helped his first officer to his feet. He turned to face the front of the bridge, where his second officer had regained his post. "Report" He demanded. "Captain. All the primary systems have been disabled by whatever phenomena struck us. I am attempting to reroute and gain access to the secondary systems. I have access. I am attempting to clear our view now." The captain looked up at the snow-covered image on the screen before him. Slowly the picture cleared, leaving behind the image of a pure, blue/white globe, sparkling like a precious jewel in the infinite, inky blackness of space. "Is that Earth?" the captain asked as the smoke lingering in the air began to clear. "I believe so sir. I am attempting to raise Starfleet command now." The man's fingers flew across the panel in front of him with astonishing speed. He turned to face his commander "Captain, I am not detecting any transmissions on any Starfleet frequencies." The captain looked around at his executive officer. "Any ideas, number one?" "One, captain" he checked a small panel on the arm of his chair "According to stellar records, we ARE orbiting Earth." The captain looked relieved, for a moment he thought they'd somehow being pulled to another world. "But the year is 2001" The captain slumped into his chair. "Well, that answers where we are. But not how we get back to where we belong." "Captain." "Yes, Mr Data" the captain answered, turning to face his second officer. "Using the records from our recent encounter with the Borg, it will be a relatively easy task to create a temporal vortex back to our own time. However, damage to various systems integral to the generation of the vortex will take at least 1sixteen hours to repair." The captain took all this in his stride. "Very well. Make it so. I'll be in my ready ro..." "Captain" Mr Data interrupted "I am detecting the presence of a Starfleet comm-badge on the surface" "What? Are you sure Data?" asked the first officer. "Definitely, Commander Riker. I am narrowing the location now. The signal is coming from a small town on the California coastline." "Why didn't we detect it straight away?" Riker asked. "The signal is very weak Commander. I only detected it because I boosted power to the sensors in order to detect any residue of the phenomena which brought us here." "Very well" spoke the Captain "We had better investigate. Counsellor, you'll accompany myself and Doctor Crusher to the surface." He tapped the badge on his left breast "Doctor Crusher, report to transporter room three." "Captain, the transporters are off-line. Repairs will take at least eleven hours." Data informed him. "Did you here that, Doctor?" he asked. "Yes sir. Shall I meet you in the shuttle bay?" "Ten minutes. Data, will you transfer details on the signals point of origin to the shuttlecraft? Number one, you have the bridge." With that he turned and strode to the lift, an attractive woman falling into step with him. Once they were in the lift he said "Shuttle bay one" and the doors closed.  
  
**********  
  
"Stay here while I open the door, Will" Buffy said, heading for the dorm room they shared. She unlocked and swung the door open, and then she headed back and helped Willow into the room. "Buff, you don't need to coddle me," Willow protested as she was tenderly set on the edge of her bed. "Yes I do" came the reply "because you're like a sister to me." and then she folded Willow into a gentle hug. "Ouch. Sore here." "Sorry Will. Here, lie down and rest." Buffy gently laid her friend down and then closed the door. Silently she padded over to her own bed and lay down. She thought to herself 'I'll just rest for a moment'...  
  
********** Spike and Riley finished their patrol and stood on a small hill overlooking the town. As they gazed into the clear night sky, a flash of green light drew their attention. "What the bloody hell?" Spike asked no one in particular. "I don't know" Riley answered, scanning the heavens around where the flash had been. "It doesn't match the position of any known satellites." "You know all that, up there?" Spike asked, starring intently at Riley's' head. "Yep, you'd be amazed at what privileged information the head of a secret government installation has access too." Riley answered. "I think they'd be amazed at what you're with-holding from them. Fancy hiding a hostile, tut tut." Spike teased. "Oh they know all about you. You're under constant observation." Spike stood there for a moment, stunned into silence.  
  
**********  
  
"Opening bay doors" spoke the feminine computer voice. Picard sat in the pilots' seat, with Crusher next to him and Troi behind. "Thrusters online. Impulse engines standing by" he spoke through the routine launch checklist as a matter of course. With a gentle hum, the small spacecraft lifted from the deck and slowly edged forwards. It slid through the atmospheric shield into the darkness beyond. It accelerated away from the star ship and then it's shields started to glow as it entered the atmosphere. The tiny craft levelled its' descent once it was safely inside the atmosphere. At that moment, the clear night sky was split by a searing bolt of blue/green energy that struck the tiny craft, passing through its shields like they weren't even there. Inside, over the din of emergency alarms and a series of small explosions from the rear equipment trunk, Picard had to shout to be heard. "We're hit! Engines offline! Stabilisers offline! We're going down! Everyone, brace for impact" Trailing smoke, the stricken craft hurtled towards the ground, the lights of a small town in the distance growing ever nearer...  
  
**********  
  
Riley and Spike trudged through the grass, heading down the hill back into town when the air was filled with a growing whine and suddenly something screamed over them, trailing thick smoke as it disappeared towards the woods. "What the bloody hell was that!" shouted Spike. At that moment they heard a crash, not more than half a mile away by the sound of it. As they turned and started running in the direction of the crash, Riley spoke into a small radio, requesting a full search team to come to his assistance. Together, they ran into the trees. After a couple of minutes they could smell burning. Then they came upon a scene of absolute devastation. Something had ploughed through the young trees that had been planted by the students of Sunnydale High only two years earlier. Slowly, they walked down the trough ploughed out by whatever had come down here. In the darkness ahead they could see an odd shaped object. About the size of a school bus, it looked like no aircraft either of them had seen before. In the almost claustrophobic quite caused by the devastating impact scaring away all the wildlife in the immediate vicinity, the gentle hiss of a hatch opening seemed almost deafening by comparison. Riley levelled his rifle as the hatch settled to the ground. Smoke poured from the interior of the craft, then a balding man staggered through the smoke, followed closely by two females. "FREEZE!" shouted Riley "Put your hands in the air!" seeing the gun aimed straight at him, the man complied, the two women following his lead. "Spike." Riley spoke "check them for anything that looks like a weapon." Spike started forwards and then stopped in shock. "Bloody hell" was all he could say "What?" demanded Riley. "Look at what they're wearing" Riley took a step forward, his gun still trained on Picard. Then he stopped as well. "I think bloody hell covers it. You." he turned to Picard "What is your name?" "I cannot divulge that information." he replied, his voice firm. "Let me help with that, then," said Spike. Slowly, he circled the small group, addressing each in turn. "You are Captain Jean-Luc Picard of the Federation Star ship Enterprise. You, you are Doctor Beverly Crusher, chief medical officer of same and the captains bit of fancy and finally, you are Counsellor Deanna Troi of the Enterprise." He smiled crookedly at the shocked expressions on their faces.  
  
  
  
To be continued in the next chapter, "Illogical Explanations" Feedback: Of course! Any comments, including constructive criticism are welcome. Please don't send abusive comments if you don't like the story - tell me WHY you don't like it. Politely. Cheers. 


	2. Illogical Explanations

Continuity: Takes place in season 4 of Buffy. Everything remains the same, with the following exceptions; after the death of Maggie Walsh, Riley is made head of the Initiative and given the task of hunting down and eliminating Adam. For a back story reason I have yet to decide, the Scoobys' are aware of Tara as a witch and friend of Willow, but not of their growing relationship.  
  
  
Disclaimer: I do not own Buffy the vampire slayer, any associated characters, places, events and any other materials related to it. They are the creation of Joss Whedon. I thank him for creating this marvellous universe, which we can all enjoy. I also do not own StarTrek The Next Generation, including characters, places, objects, institutions and other materials related to it. It is the property of Paramount Pictures. I thank Gene Roddenberry for creating such a fantastic playground for the mind.  
  
  
Spoilers: Anything up to the end of "The I in Team" of season four of Buffy.  
  
  
  
  
  
Chapter 2: "Illogical Explanations"  
  
  
  
Willow moaned softly as she rolled over onto her side the phone rang sharply, startling them both. Buffy looked over as Willow reached for the phone.  
"H-Hello" she managed to get out, a little breathless still.  
"Willow, it's Giles. Is Buffy with you?" the voice on the other end of the line asked.   
"Yeah, she's in bed." she answered him. She looked at Buffy and mouthed "G-I-L-E-S"  
"Good. Riley would like us all to come to the Initiative immediately. He's arranged visitor access for us all, we just have to enter with an agent." with that he hung up. Willow looked at the phone for a moment and then placed it back on its cradle.  
"I'd better get dressed" she said, "Giles wants us to meet at the Initiative."  
"Okay, what's with that?" Buffy asked "Even though Riley's in charge of the Initiative now, he still doesn't trust them after Maggie created Adam there."   
"Guess we'll find out soon enough, won't we?" Willow answered, pulling on her jeans as Buffy quickly changed her top. Ten minutes later they entered the frat house that served as the cover for the massive underground complex of the Initiative. Softly they walked the corridors until they came face to face with a full-length mirror. As they stood there, a green light played across their faces. A soft beep and then the mirror slid across to reveal a hidden elevator. They entered and the door slid closed behind them. Buffy leaned close to a small grill on one wall and spoke, glancing at Willow.  
"I wonder what the surprise is?"  
"Initiative vocal code confirmed. Agent Summers, Buffy" A computerized voice replied. Buffy spoke again.  
"Record visitor vocal code for Guest Rosenburg, Willow."  
"Ready." the computer replied.   
Willow leant forward.  
"Maybe it's a coming out party?"  
"Initiative vocal code confirmed. Guest Rosenburg, Willow" the computer replied.   
Buffy looked at her sharply and was about to speak when the lift door opened and they walked out onto a catwalk overlooking the complex sprawling out beneath them. As they trotted down a flight of stairs, Riley and Giles approached.  
"What's up, Giles?" Buffy asked.  
"Buffy, Willow. Good." The watcher replied "I think you'd better come with us to the human detention cells. The others are already there"  
"Err, okay" Buffy replied tentatively. "What's up?" but Giles remained silent as he led the way through to the detention area. Riley spoke for the first time since they had arrived.  
"Me and Spike were, ahem, on patrol when an aircraft of some sort passed overhead and crashed nearby." They reached a security door and he pulled a swipe card from his pocket, feeding it through a reader, which beeped and then they heard the solid THUNK of a lock releasing. Passing through the door, he continued.  
"When we investigated, we found three survivors…" he gestured towards a single cell. Buffy looked at the three individuals within. She started to speak, then stopped in shock, drawing in a sharp breath.  
"My god…" she managed eventually, taking a step towards the barrier, staring at the people within. "Are they…" her question hung in the air, unfinished.  
"We've run checks" Riley stated, "all of the actors are confirmed as being at their respective homes, with the exception of Stewart, who is filming on location in Egypt."  
"So who are they?" Willow asked, stepping up beside Buffy to look into the cell. "Hey, this ones' got a small magickal force about her." She said, pointing to Troi. Troi stood and spoke.  
"I'm empathic. I can sense emotions." She looked over the group "You're all puzzled by something, what is it?" Now Picard stood, placing a hand on Trois' shoulder.  
"Yes, what is puzzling you? And why are we being held here?" He asked.  
Now Xander spoke up,  
"We're puzzled because of you. I mean, what are three characters from a TV show doing in Sunnydale, complete with a vehicle that can't exist. I've watched EVERY episode of The Twilight Zone, but…"  
"Xander, that isn't something I'd admit too." Interrupted Buffy.   
"Do you mind!" he said indignantly "I was going to say something informative!"  
"What? That you'd never seen anything this strange?" Buffy countered.  
"Well, yeah. But still…" Xander protested for a moment, before falling silent and flopping down into a chair. Buffy turned to face Willow.  
"Will, could they be from another world? You know, one where fictional characters exist instead of real people?"   
"I suppose. We all know about the one created when Anya granted a wish, so I suppose anything is possible." She answered. Now Dr. Crusher stood and approached the barrier.  
"If I can have access to one of our devices, I might be able to tell you if your hypothesis is correct."  
Riley glanced at Buffy, a dubious look on his face.  
"I don't trust them." He said. "They might try to escape."  
"It's okay," she said "I'll stand guard." Riley looked at her and sighed.  
"I don't suppose it won't do any harm. Which device do you need?" he asked Crusher.  
"My medical tricorder" she answered, " It's about thi…"   
"I'll fetch it!" Xander said, jumping to his feet and bolting through the door to stores. He returned a minute later holding a small grey box, about the size of a cigarette packet. He handed the tricorder to Buffy, who waited for Riley to release the lock. With a gentle hiss, the barrier slid open and Buffy stepped inside, holding the tricorder out towards Crusher.  
"How did you know what to look for?" She asked in astonishment. Buffy glanced at Xander.  
"We'll explain later." She said "Now, about our idea…"  
"Oh, of course." Crusher said, flipping the tricorder open and removing a small cylinder from one end. "Hold still," she said, holding the cylinder a few inches from Buffy "This won't hurt a bit." The small unit hummed for a moment and then the tricorder beeped. She checked the result and then turned the sensor on herself. Again it hummed and then beeped. She looked back down, comparing the results. She turned to face Picard.  
"Their RNA is different from ours. We ARE in another dimension." She said.  
"Very well," Picard answered "but how did we get here?" he asked. Buffy looked to Willow.  
"Magick?" She asked.  
"Probably." Willow answered. "We know it was used to create at least one other dimension."  
"Magick?" Picard said incredulously "Magick doesn't exist." Willow held out an open hand.  
"Librum Incendreai" She said and a small ball of flame appeared in her palm. As she shook the flame out, Picard took a step forward, staring in wonder.  
"How did you do that?" He asked. Willow smiled slightly,  
"With something that doesn't exist." She stated, a hint of humour in her voice.  
As Picard started to reply, the whole ground began to shake violently, tossing everyone to the floor as a small cloud of dust rained down on them. Then the lights flickered and died.  
  
**********  
  
Commander Riker paced the bridge. The Captain, Doctor Crusher and Counsellor Troi had been missing for nearly two hours now.  
"Any sign of them, Data?" he asked the android.  
"None, Commander. I am unable to detect any Starfleet comm - signals now and I cannot isolate their patterns, there is to much interference."  
"Interference? Of what kind?" Riker asked.  
"Unknown. I have never encountered anything like it before, but it is blocking all my attempts to isolate the location of the away team or the shuttlecraft." Riker sighed.  
"Well, we'll just have to send another team down there to search for them. Have Geordi meet myself and Lt. Matzo in the shuttlebay. You'll be in command until myself or Captain Picard Return."   
"Yes, comman..." Data paused as more information appeared on the console in front of him "Commander, according to scans, there is none of the fallout present we would expect to see in this timeframe, given historical records are accurate."  
"In English, Data." Riker replied.  
"Sorry Sir. According to records, Earth at this time should be recovering from the devastation brought upon by the Eugenics Wars. However, scans indicate this world has not suffered such a calamity."  
"You're sure this is Earth?" Riker asked, doubt filling his voice. He knew this was Earth, he just had to be certain.  
"Positive, Sir."  
"Well, that's just one more mystery to solve, isn't it?" He sighed. "Data, transfer the last known location of the Captains shuttle to Shuttlecraft three." He stood and strode towards the lift.  
  
**********  
  
Deep underground in the core of the Initiative, emergency lights came on as soon as the main power died, leaving the base bathed in a perpetual twilight. Suddenly, the air was split by a deafening wail. Riley head snapped round as he staggered to his feet.  
"Crap! The power to the demon detention area has failed. Everyone, follow me!" he shouted, darting from the cells and running towards the armoury. Buffy turned towards the new arrivals.  
"You'd better come with us - it'll be safer." With the Starfleet officers in tow, she followed the others out of the cell area.  
On the far side of the central area, she could see demons pounding at the security door that isolated the primary complex from the detention area. Already it was starting to give way, creaking and groaning in its frame.  
"At least the locks are still working." Giles said as they ran to the armoury.  
"Yes," Riley answered "After Adam escaped I ordered a full review of base operations as he no doubt had full details on the facility, we don't want him sneaking in. It was noticed that if main power failed, the locks would release. It seemed a bit risky, so I ordered a change to the system so that they would remain active even if main power failed." Other troops were already at the armoury by the time they arrived, each taking an assault rifle and ammunition.  
The door gave way with a crash and two dozen demons and a half dozen vampires poured through, all rushing towards the soldiers before them. The air was filled with the sound of gunfire as eight M16's opened up. As the demons rushed forwards, the head of one erupted in a fountain of blood and brain, another was cut in two as a soldier set his rifle to full automatic and sprayed it across the oncoming hoard like a hose. A vampire was thrown to the floor as a dozen rounds slapped wetly into his chest, but he staggered back to his feet, laughing. Another demon went down as Willow propelled a foot long knife through it's chest. A crate of highly volatile Quasli' Ak spleen samples exploded as a stray round hit it and a vampire exploded into dust as a piece of the crate passed through his chest.  
Buffy and Spike charged forwards. Buffy leapt high into the air, delivering a flying kick that knocked a seven foot tall demon to the floor. As she landed the demon struggled back to its feet and she knocked it to the floor again with a sweeping kick that took his legs out from under him. In a blink of an eye an incredibly sharp and wicked looking dagger appeared in her hand and in one swift movement she stabbed him in the heart. Spike whirled through the crowd of demons, his fists and legs flying, connecting solidly with a demons face, breaking his nose and pushing the fragments into his brain, killing him instantly.  
Despite the combined efforts of the Initiatives troops, Buffy and Spike, the tide was turning against them. Picard looked at his crew,   
"We have to help," He said, "Find our phasers." He said, looking around him.  
"There, Captain." Troi said, pointing to a table in the armoury. Arrayed upon it was all their equipment, including their communicators, tricorders, medi-kits, two type-two phasers and four type-three A phaser rifles. Amid the chaos of the raging battle, the three starfleet officers were easily able to slip into the armoury. Picard picked up a phaser rifle and checked its charge - full! Quickly, he passed the rifles around.   
"Set them to heavy stun." he said, tapping a command into his own rifle. It chirped a response. "Lets go." He said, leading the way from the armoury.  
Buffy pummelled an eight foot demon with a wicked three punch combo, following with a roundhouse kick that snapped his head back. He staggered back a couple of feet and growled at her. Suddenly he flew backwards ten feet as a bolt of red energy struck his chest, accompanied by a high pitched whine. He crashed into a pile of crates and slowly got back to his feet.   
"What was that!" Buffy cried. Looking around, she saw Picard stood at the entrance to the armoury, his phaser to his shoulder.  
"Merde!" he muttered, "Try a higher setting." He tapped at his rifles control panel again. He squeezed the trigger again and another bolt of energy, this one slightly brighter than the last, flashed through the air again, throwing the demon back to the ground. He didn't get up this time. Buffy looked on appreciatively,  
"Yay. Cavalry."  
Bullets, phaser blasts, fists and feet flew through the air and slowly the battle turned in favour of the defenders. A vampire flew through the air, propelled by a blast from Trois' phaser rifle. As she watched on in disbelief, he got back to his feet, a small wisp of smoke rising from his chest. Buffy turned from the demon she was fighting and shouted over the din,  
"Those ones' are already dead! You have to destroy the heart!"   
"Dead?" Troi muttered to herself, puzzled yet knowing that the girl believed what she said to be true. Tapping the phasers power setting higher, she fired again, the bolt striking a vampire in the chest and leaving a hole the size of a football where his heart had being. He looked down in shock and let out a strangled scream as he exploded into dust.   
Buffy whirled through the melee, leaving a trail of bloodied demon corpses and piles of ash behind her, stake in one hand, a combat knife in the other. Xander squeezed off a round from a S.P.A.S shotgun into a vampire at point - blank range, turning its head into a cloud of blood and brain and, moments later, a cloud of dust. Finally, only one vampire remained, alone in a sea of blood, the drained corpse of a soldier hanging limply in his grasp. Slowly, he let it drop to the floor, looking at the people arrayed before him. Buffy stalked slowly towards him. He looked at her pleadingly,  
"N-No. P-Please. D-Don't do it." He managed to stammer.  
Buffy smiled innocently, twirling a stake in her hand, getting ever closer to the vampire who was slowly backing away. He tripped over the cooling form of a decapitated demon, staggering back to his feet whilst still backing away from her. Suddenly she darted forwards, pressing her body against his, her face mere inches from the vamps.   
"Do what?" She breathed in his ear. Almost imperceptibly, he whimpered. She brought the stake up and trailed it slowly from his navel to the base of his neck and back down. As it reached his heart she whispered "Oh, this?" and plunged it deep into his chest. As the stake entered him, the vampire was shaking, his eyes squeezed tight shut. He didn't make a sound as he vanished into dust. She turned on her heels and stalked back towards Picard, brushing the dust from her top.  
"Welcome to my world." She said flatly.  
"You're world?" Picard asked.  
"Yeah." Buffy answered "You've probably noticed its different. Magick, demons, vampires. They're all real."  
"Fine, temporal and inter-dimensional physics I can understand. But I do have one question." He said.  
"Shoot. But lets go to the briefing room." she said, leading the way with Picard and Riley falling into step with her.  
"How did you know who we are? And about our ship?" Picard asked her.  
"Simple. You're a TV show." Xander said from behind them, before Buffy could start to talk. They passed through a door and took seats in a military briefing room, with an overhead projector and screen at one end of the room and a map of the United States at the other. Picard looked at Buffy.  
"What does he mean?"  
"Its simple. Here, in our world, there are a series of Television programs that chart the voyages of your own ship, Captain Kirks', the U.S.S Voyager and Deep Space Nine." She answered. "We think you must have been drawn into the real world by some spell that went wrong." Picard looked at her,  
"What do you mean, the real world? This world must be the fictional one, magick DOESN'T exist."  
"So, how do you explain Willow, or those demons or vampi..." Her counter-argument was stopped by a voice from the back of the room,  
"Actually, both are real." Together, the group whirled to face the intruder. A handsome, dark haired man lay on his side on the far end of the table, his head resting in one hand and an impish smile playing across his features. A look of recognition flashed across Picards face, followed by anger.  
"Now, now, Jean-Luc, play nice with the nasty demons."  
  
  
  
Who is the strange visitor? All will be revealed in Barriers 3 - Of Time and Television.  
Feedback: Of course! Any comments, including constructive criticism are welcome. Please don't send abusive comments if you don't like the story - tell me WHY you don't like it. Politely. Cheers. 


	3. Of Time and Television

Continuity: Takes place in season 4 of Buffy. Everything remains the same, with the following exceptions; after the death of Maggie Walsh, Riley is made head of the Initiative and given the task of hunting down and eliminating Adam. For a back story reason I have yet to decide, the Scoobys' are aware of Tara as a witch and friend of Willow, but not of their growing relationship.  
  
  
Disclaimer: I do not own Buffy the vampire slayer, any associated characters, places, events and any other materials related to it. They are the creation of Joss Whedon. I thank him for creating this marvellous universe, which we can all enjoy. I also do not own StarTrek The Next Generation, including characters, places, objects, institutions and other materials related to it. It is the property of Paramount Pictures. I thank Gene Roddenberry for creating such a fantastic playground for the mind. I suppose I own Lt. Jimmy Matzo, but that's it so far.  
  
  
Spoilers: Anything up to the end of "The I in Team" of season four of Buffy.  
  
  
  
Chapter 3: Of Time and Television.  
  
  
With an almost imperceptible sound, the great doors of the shuttle bay began to open, revealing to Riker the naked beauty of space. He never tired of this. In a shuttlecraft, he felt an element of control and wonder he had never truly managed to experience in the safe and secure confines of a star ship. This was seat - of - your - pants space travel, space travel as it had being during the days of Captain Archer and that first interstellar vessel to bear the name Enterprise.  
"Phoenix to Ops. Data, are we cleared for departure?" He asked, somewhat pointlessly he thought to himself. After all, what other space traffic was there going to be in this high an Earth orbit? Still, regulations were regulations.  
"Ops to Phoenix." the implacable android answered, "You are cleared for launch."  
Riker glanced over at Geordi in the co-pilot seat as the shuttle gently lifted off of the deck and edged towards the invisible barrier that kept the ships atmosphere contained,  
"Shall we take a sweeping course in, so as to gain as much sensor information as possible?"  
"Sounds good to me, Commander." the engineer replied, then grinned "And I suppose it has nothing to do with wanting a look at the scenery?"  
"Oh of course, nothing to do with the scenery" Riker replied with a grin of his own. As the shuttle swept past the massive port nacelle of Enterprise, he turned to face Matzo seated behind Geordi.  
"Have you ever visited California, Jimmy?" He asked.  
"No Will, but Paul used to live there before he moved to London with me."  
"You mean you never visited his home?" Geordi asked.  
"Nope. We met at the academy, went through our courses together and even ended up on our first assignment together, the Intrepid."  
Riker grunted, "Some people get all the luck, eh Geordi? Meet their true love at the academy, go through classes together AND get their first assignment together!"  
Geordi smiled "Disgusting, sir!"  
The North American continent loomed large in the view port, slowly vanishing as the shuttle rotated to present its strong atmospheric entry shields to the planets atmosphere. As flames began to pass in front of the view port, the craft shuddered slightly then steadied again. They passed through a high cloud base and then the Californian coastline stretched out before them,   
"Approaching the Captains flight path now, Commander." Geordi said, glancing at his instruments.  
"Alright, coming about to follow his trajectory." The shuttle swung round and followed the previous crafts course. In the distance they could see a small coastal town. As they neared it, a small patch of woodland appeared. And right through the centre was carved a trail of destruction. As Riker brought the shuttle around for another pass, Geordi scanned the area.  
"No doubt about it Commander. That's where they came down. I'm detecting trace elements of duranium alloy, which doesn't exist in this time, along with a small warp residue. It looks like one of their nacelles was damaged during the crash."  
"We're going to have to land, I'll set us down in that clearing, it's only a few hundred yards from the crash site." Gently, the tiny vessel touched down, sinking a couple of inches in the now-soft earth. With a hiss and gentle thunk, the rear hatch swung down. Riker stepped onto the soft ground and looked at the carnage that surrounded him in astonishment. Decapitated and mutilated bodies lay all around, the blood from the corpses mingling with the soil to create the mud that the shuttle had settled in.  
He bent down to examine one of the corpses and rolled it over. Looking down into the bodies' face, he saw that it wasn't human. The skin was leathery, the colour of old oak furniture and two small horns protruded from its' head. A dagger was imbedded in the creature's forehead. He stood and turned to face the rest of the away team.  
"Whatever happened here, we missed it." He gestured to the corpse "And this poor gent wasn't even human. Just another little mystery to solve." He sighed, "I am really starting to dislike this world. All it needs is Q to round things off!"  
  
**********  
  
"Q!" Picard shot to his feet, "What is the meaning of this? Did you bring us here?"  
The new arrival looked sternly at Picard from his spot on the table,  
"Now, now Jean-Luc. Is that any way to great an old friend?" he said, sliding off of the table to stand before them.  
"We were never friends, Q! What have you done? Why are we here?" Picard shot back.  
"Never friends?" Q asked, placing a hand on his chest, "Jean-Luc, you break my heart!"  
"Q!"  
"Temper, temper, mon kapitan. As it happens, I am not responsible for your presence here; it is entirely your own doing. I am merely here to point you in the right direction."  
Picard fixed him with a cold stare,  
"My own doing? Q, this isn't another trial is it? Like the anti-time anomaly?"  
"No, no, nothing so mundane. What you do here will affect all life. Everywhere. Even myself."  
"Yourself? Then why don't you solve the problem?" Picard asked.  
"Because, Jean-Luc, it is not my place to do so. This is for you and the girl to resolve."   
Buffy stepped forward, looking straight at Q,  
"What did you mean, both our worlds are real?" she asked him.  
Q laughed, "I'm surprised no-one has figured it out yet, especially you Jean-Luc. You've had experience with this kind of thing before." Picard glared at him and Q sighed "Oh, very well, if I have to spell it out for you, then I will. You remember when your stout Klingon was slipping through dimensions?" Picard nodded, then snapped his fingers,  
"Of course!" The people gathered in the room stared at him, Q with a look of anticipation on his face, the others looking puzzled, "Quantum physics says that for every decision a person makes, in another dimension the opposite choice is made. So there are an infinite number of dimensions and within those infinite dimensions, it would be entirely possible for one world to feature a fictional world that identically matched a *real* dimension elsewhere!" Q began to clap slowly,  
"Well done, Jean-Luc! You show more promise each time we meet. Congratulations, you shouldn't get too happy though - you may have just figured out how you are both real, but now the real challenge begins, you have to discover what you must do"  
"Aren't you going to tell us?" asked Xander.  
"Why, of course not, little boy." Q fixed Xander with a dismissive stare, "As I said, it is not my place to do so, I am merely a stepping stone on your path of discovery." He turned to face Picard again "Farewell, Captain. Until we meet again..." Then, in a flash of light, he was gone.   
As they stood there, staring at the now empty spot where Q had stood only moments earlier, Giles pushed his glasses back up the bridge of his nose and mused quietly,  
"I wonder what he meant, 'our own doing'?" Picard looked to him and spoke with great certainty,  
"It is best not to take everything Q says at face value. On every occasion that I have had dealings with him, his words have always been at best cryptic, at worst downright deceitful."   
  
**********  
  
The old wooden door swung open and a cloak-shrouded form entered the dark room. A faint odour of mildew hung in the air and the shutters over the window were closed. The visitor approached the antique oak desk and placed a sheet of crystal on it. Within the crystal was an image, shrouded in mist, of a large vessel in space, the Earth sparkling like a jewel behind it.  
"The sacrifice was disrupted and now the visitors have arrived, what shall we do? Their presence can only make things harder for us." The figure behind the desk was lost in shadow, and then the strong lines of his cheekbones were highlighted from beneath as he brought a cigarette to his lips. He inhaled deeply and then blew out three smoke rings, each smaller than the last. Finally, he spoke in a clipped British accent,  
"It is of no consequence. The ritual was at least partially successful; even now the dark one is being drawn to this place. They will not be able to stop us, only hinder us. All that matters is that our lord arises, not how difficult that arising is." With that, he dismissed the messenger with a wave of his hand.  
  
**********  
  
The away team slowly made their way through the clearing, being careful to avoid the dead forms littering the ground, towards the town that lay only a mile or so away. Geordi walked awkwardly in his period costume, a T-shirt bearing the slogan 'No Fear' and a pair of jeans,   
"What's wrong?" Riker asked, glancing at his old friend.  
"Just these, jeans, was it?" Riker nodded "Anyway, why are we wearing these clothes when the captain and the others got to wear their uniforms?"  
"Simple," Riker answered, "the Captain was only expecting to do an initial flyover and then return to orbit to collate his findings before he actually went on the ground"  
"Oh. Still, you could have gotten me something more comfortable."  
"Oh stop whining!" Riker checked his tricorder, "That way." he said, pointing and leading the small group through the trees. They emerged from the trees onto a scene of devastation, a gouge in the earth that lasted for almost a quarter mile. Riker glanced at his tricorder again, then he turned to his left and led the others along. Soon they came to the end of the trail and were faced with...nothing.  
"Where's the shuttle?"   
  
**********  
  
Dusk had fallen and Buffy was out patrolling, pondering what Q had told them. She turned to Willow,  
"What do you think Q meant, this problem is of our making?"  
"I don't know, Buffy." Willow said, taking her hand. "But you heard what Picard said, Q's a prankster."  
"I know, Will. We both do. We used to watch StarTrek at Xanders' together, remember?"  
Willow smiled at the memories. Memories of easier times. Oh, they had fought any number of foul, stinking demons and averted at least a half-dozen apocalypses, but even so, things had been simpler then. Perhaps it was just growing up, she thought. Things were so much more simplistic when they had been younger. No bills. No jobs. A life structured for you, do this now, do that then.  
"Yeah, we did, didn't we?" she said, her voice distant.  
"What's up Will? You don't seem with it tonight" Buffy looked at her, a hint of concern in her voice.  
"It's nothing." Willow said, smiling at Buffy, "Just thinking about other times. You know, school and stuff."  
"Yeah, I get like that sometimes." Buffy said tenderly, gently squeezing Willows' hand and giving her a reassuring look. "I miss the library." She said softly. She stopped at the pained look that crossed Willows' face. "Oh, god Will, I'm sorry. I forgot about Oz for a moment."  
Willow stopped looked into Buffys' eyes,   
"It's okay. We got that bounty hunter in the end. Oz would be happy that we stopped him."  
"You're right." Buffy said, smiling gently. "That scumbag isn't getting his hands on anymore werewolf pelts." She folded Willow into a tight embrace. Willow looked into her face,  
"Buffy. There's something I have to tell you." Buffy smiled slightly,  
"I thi..."  
"Buffy, please" Willow said, pulling back and taking the slayers hands gently in her own, "I'm...I've started seeing...someone...from college...from the group." She stopped and took a deep breath, a soft shiver running over her body. Buffy stayed silent, realising her friend had to do this herself. Willow took another deep, shuddering breath. "Buffy, I've...I mean, I'm seeing Tara."  
Buffy smiled softly. "I know. I mean I didn't, I sort of guessed. Your comment at the Initiative clued me in, I'm not daft you know!" She pulled her hand from the redheads and gently slapped her on the shoulder, then folded her into another hug.  
"I'm so proud of you Will, that must have taken so much courage."  
"You don't think Oz would be upset?"   
"Of course not!" Willow looked doubtful.  
"Are you sure?"  
"Yes I'm sure." Buffy smiled again, "Oz would be happy that you've moved on and are living your life." She looked Willow in the eyes and smiled slyly, "Shall we call it a night?" she asked.  
At that moment the bushes around the couple erupted into life, five of the demons whose brethren they had fought earlier rushed them, each wielding a vicious metre and a half long sword, swinging them in great arcs over their heads.   
"Duck!" Buffy cried and together she and Willow dropped to their knees, the blades flashing over their heads. As soon as the blades had passed over her, Buffy sprang forwards, her legs uncoiling like springs. Her arms outstretched, her fists connected with one of the demons' chest, throwing him backwards almost fifteen feet. Willow brought her hand up and another demon flew backwards, landing beside its' companion. Buffy rolled to her feet and snapped out a backwards kick that caught one of the demons, knocking him backwards. She spun on the spot to face her foes, and then back flipped away to get some space to think and move. They rushed towards her, their swords raised high. Quickly, she stepped forward, meeting the charge and causing their swings to miss wildly. She grabbed one of the demons head and twisted sharply, snapping its' neck. One of the dazed creatures staggered to its feet and took a step forwards only to be thrown back by an incredibly powerful blast from Willow, a charred hole in its chest. As her foe fell to the ground, Buffy plucked the sword from its hand and swung it in a tight arc that chopped one of her attackers hands off at the wrist, his hand and blade falling to the muddy ground. As the demon staggered away, grasping the bloody stump where its hand used to be in shock, Buffy snapped out a sidekick that sent one of her attackers sprawling. A third swung his sword at her head, but Buffy dropped her own weapon and sidestepped, grabbing the sword at the top of the hilt. Quickly, she twisted the weapon down and round, pulling it from her opponents grasp. She brought it back up, catching the demon under its' jaw with the hilt and snapping its' head back. As the demon staggered away from her, Buffy twirled the weapon in her hand and thrust forward with such force that the tip of the sword emerged from the creatures back. She turned to face her final opponent just in time to witness Willow whisper something and then the demon stopped in his tracks, a look of horror on his face. He grasped his midsection and then doubled over in pain. As he collapsed to his knees he let out a single, strangled cry and then burst into flames, consumed from the inside out. With a soft thud the charred corpse fell on its face.  
Buffy walked towards Willow, who was glancing about herself nervously.  
"Is that all of them?" she asked.  
"No, there's one more somewhere." Buffy answered. She gave Willow a reassuring smile. "It's okay, I chopped one of it's hands off. I just want to see if I can get some answers from it."  
"Oh, okay. Hang on" Willow closed her eyes for a moment. When she opened them she pointed to a building site a few hundred yards away.   
"He's hiding in the foreman's office." Buffy looked at her.   
"Way to go Will! When did you learn that trick?" Willow smiled, a soft gentle smile.  
  
**********  
  
  
  
To be continued in Chapter 4: A New Arrival 


	4. A New Arrival

Continuity: Takes place in season 4 of Buffy. Everything remains the same, with the following exceptions; after the death of Maggie Walsh, Riley is made head of the Initiative and given the task of hunting down and eliminating Adam. For a back story reason I have yet to decide, the Scoobys' are aware of Tara as a witch and friend of Willow, but not of their growing relationship.  
  
Disclaimer: I do not own Buffy the vampire slayer, any associated characters, places, events and any other materials related to it. They are the creation of Joss Whedon. I thank him for creating this marvellous universe, which we can all enjoy. I also do not own StarTrek The Next Generation, including characters, places, objects, institutions and other materials related to it. It is the property of Paramount Pictures. I thank Gene Roddenberry for creating such a fantastic playground for the mind. I suppose I own Lt. Jimmy Matzo, but that's it so far.  
  
Spoilers: Anything up to the end of "The I in Team" of season four of Buffy.  
  
Authors note: I appreciate that feelings regarding air disasters are running high following the terrible events of last September and anyone caught up in this terrible event have my greatest sympathies. However, given the source of the evil featured here, the first and second crafts it came into contact with seemed obvious. Anyone offended by this, please accept my apologies.  
  
  
  
Chapter 4: A New Arrival  
  
Enterprise orbited the blue orb of Earth, the North American continent below it. A green speck appeared amidst the myriad of stars, growing ever brighter and larger until it streaked up to the huge form of the starship and stopped. It hung in space for a moment, and then streaked towards the ship. On the bridge, Data spotted the incoming ball of energy and his hands moved faster than the eye could see. The ball of energy carried on hurtling towards the ship and then slammed into the shields that had manifested themselves, creating a protective bubble around the ship. The light hung in space for a moment, as if contemplating this strange object that had defeated it before streaking into Earth's atmosphere, disappearing amidst the storm clouds gathering over the Californian coast.  
  
"Flight seven eighteen out of LA to Sunnydale. We're encountering heavy cloud cover here. Everything okay for a landing?" "Sunnydale tower, roger seven eighteen, everything's clear here. Recommend you descend to 8,000 feet for final approach - the cloud base is quite low." "Roger Sunnydale, beginning descent now" The 737 jetliner began to descend, disappearing amidst the rapidly darkening clouds. "Sunnydale, we're loosing visibility here. This is unlike any storm I've ever seen." Silence. "Sunnydale? Hello, Sunnydale tower, do you copy?" Silence. "Sunnydale, if you can hear me, I'm beginning ascent. We'll divert to....." "Skip! Look! What's that? Off our starboard quarter..." the aircrafts co- pilot interrupted. The pilot looked out and stared. The clouds had cleared a small degree and matching their course about 300 metres ahead of them was a glowing green light. "I don't know Scott, but I'm going up. I don't like this one bit." The aircrafts nose began to lift, the clouds parting again as it gained altitude. The radio crackled and came back to life. "...hteen. Do you read? Repeat, this is Sunnyda..." "We read you Sunnydale! Boy, am I glad to hear you! We're encountering som..." "SKIP!!!" The green light was streaking towards them, growing brighter. It sheared through the planes right wing, igniting the fuel in the tanks there. The wing fell away and exploded a moment later. The plane dropped from the sky, spiralling downwards, flames spewing from the sheared wing. It cleared the thick cloud in a matter of moments, the ground growing ever closer, the green glow only metres behind and gaining. "Mayday! Mayday! This is Flight Seven Eighteen. We've lost our starboard wing! We are going down! I repeat..." The green light accelerated and tore through the aircrafts fuselage, destroying it in a massive fireball, raining debris upon the town below.  
  
**********  
  
With a loud crash, the door to the foreman's office smashed open and Buffy stepped into the small room. She glanced about and spotted the demon crouched in the far corner. Cautiously she approached the cowering form; Willow entering the room behind her. As she got near, the creature bolted and tried to escape past her, but her foot shot out and sent the creature sprawling. Immediately she was on top of it, rolling it over so that she could look it in the eyes. The demon looked up at her and spat in her face, "I will tell you nothing slayer." It hissed "You should save your effort and kill me now, offering me my life will not tempt me to talk." "What made you think I was going to spare your life?" Buffy asked, lowering her knife and tracing it up the creatures neck and around it's chin, "I was going to offer you two choices - tell me everything and I'll kill you quick, don't tell me and I guess we'll see just how long you can take to die, won't we?" At this, she dug the tip of her knife into the soft flesh of his cheek and twisted, causing the creature to scream in agony. Over Buffy's shoulder, Willow winced slightly, but Buffy's face remained blank, emotionless. "I'm going to wait outside, okay Buffy?" Willow said as she headed towards the door. "Sure Will, see you soon." An hour later, after the screams coming from the office had stopped, Buffy emerged with a grim look on her face. She turned to Willow, "We have to speak with the others, right now."  
  
**********  
  
In an abandoned mansion a few miles from Sunnydale, the skylight shattered, raining glass upon the crowd gathered below. A ball of green energy descended and as it reached the ground the glow began to diminish and slowly a being took form. As the glow completely vanished, a young man stood in the centre of the crowd. Immediately, all but one of the gathered acolytes dropped to their knees. The standing man stepped forward into the light coming from the destroyed skylight and dropped to one knee. "Welcome, Lord." He spoke in a British accent. The new arrival gazed down at him and then offered a hand. "Come Father Agarta, we have much to discuss." Together they walked from the room and entered a study, where they could talk in private. "I must admit I am disappointed father. You did not finish the ritual and it has taken me time I did not have to get here." "I am sorry, great one, but the slayer int...." "The slayer is dead! I set in motion the events that would lead to the Master killing her!" "So she did, lord. B-but her friend resuscitated her." The man stammered. "What!" the young man shouted. "How could you let this happen?" "Lord, we arranged for her to be killed, but our plans were interrupted by the vampire with a soul. He prevented us from getting to her friends." The young man sighed and waved a hand "Very well, what's done is done, I'll just have to kill the slayer. What worries me more is Enterprise, how did they get here?" "We do not know sir." The young man sighed yet again "You do not know a great deal, do you father?" Agarta bowed his head, the shame playing across his face, plain for anyone to see. "I am sorry my lord. I can only plead for your mercy." "You have my pity Agarta, only my pity. How can one so blessed in the magical arts be incompetent enough to not kill a slayer?" Agarta raised his head slightly "My lord, she is unlike any slayer in the history of the world. My divinations show she will one day defeat a god, if left to her own devices." he young man looked startled for a moment "A mortal? Kill a god? How?" "I do not now the details Lord, just that she would pay a great price." "Very well, it is of no importance. Now that I am here, all that would be will change. Tell me, how go your studies?" Agarta turned to the desk and unrolled a number of parchments, "Very well Lord, as you can see in the text here....." And so it continued, for countless hours, past dawn, past dusk, hour after hour...  
  
**********  
  
The away team stood staring at the empty crater where the shuttle should have been. Then something caught Geordies' attention. "There," he said aloud, pointing towards the ground. "Tracks. Human and some kind of wheeled veichle, leading over..." The darkness from the growing storm was suddenly washed out by a bright flare in the sky. They looked up in time to see an expanding ball of flame a few thousand feet up, then a fountain of mud was sprayed high into the air as debree started to rain down. "Everyone! Into cover! NOW!" Riker bellowed over the sound of impact after impact. Quickly they dashed back into the relative safety of the woods. More chunks of metal crashed to the ground. After a minute or two the deadly deluge had stopped and the mud caked starfleet officers stepped back into the open air, a gentle rain starting to fall. "What was that?" Matzo asked, looking around at the devastion that now surrounded them. A tricorder appeared in La Forge's hand, scanning the debris. "According to this, it was an aircraft of some kind and a large one at that." Riker tapped his badge, "Away team two to Enterprise." Silence. He tryed again. More silence. He sighed. "Now what?" he asked no one in particular, "Right, lets head back to the shuttle, see if we can find out some details from it's sensors." The team turned and trudged back through the woods in the steadily growing rainfall.  
  
**********  
  
"...and so they want to merge the two realities, giving their master power greater than that possed by Q?" Picard asked, a deep frown furrowing his brow. "Yep." Buffy answered flatly, "I have to say, as far as evil plans go, it seems pretty flawed. We just kill this Father Agarta character and 'poof', this guys chance of supreme power is gone." "Are you sure?" The captain asked, "It may be a ploy." "Of course it's a ploy." Giles interrupted, "Apparently, the death of Agarta is something they wish, for whatever reason. Therefore he must be protected at all costs." "But if that's the case, why don't they just kill him themselves?" Xander asked, voicing the question on everyones mind. "It must have something to do with the ceremony." Willow answered. Giles nodded, removing his glasses and polishing the lenses with a cloth from his pocket. "I concur Willow. Doubless, given the information they have so kindly 'provided' us with, Buffy, or at least an instrument of good, appears to be critical to this ceremony they are attempting." Now Buffy spoke again "Provided? Giles, it took me an age to convince that thing to tell me what it knew." Giles looked at her. "Buffy, in something like this, the people and creatures involved are normally so fanatical that they would rather die than divulge any information. The fact that you succeded in extracting such a huge amount of information in such a relatively short space of time makes me very suspicious indeed." Picard got to his feet and laid his hands on the table "Very well, I have a plan. we will extract this individual, using our weapons to subdue him, then you can protect him." He looked at Riley, who nodded in agreement. "Then, once we have that little problem solved, maybe we'll be able to get back to trying to find a way home." he said, looking to his fellow officers.  
  
TBC... 


	5. The Calm Before The Storm

Continuity: Takes place in season 4 of Buffy. Everything remains the same, with the following exceptions; after the death of Maggie Walsh, Riley is made head of the Initiative and given the task of hunting down and eliminating Adam. For a back story reason I have yet to decide, the Scoobys' are aware of Tara as a witch and friend of Willow, but not of their growing relationship.  
  
Disclaimer: I do not own Buffy the vampire slayer, any associated characters, places, events and any other materials related to it. They are the creation of Joss Whedon. I thank him for creating this marvellous universe, which we can all enjoy. I also do not own StarTrek The Next Generation, including characters, places, objects, institutions and other materials related to it. It is the property of Paramount Pictures. I thank Gene Roddenberry for creating such a fantastic playground for the mind. I suppose I own Lt. Jimmy Matzo, but that's it so far.  
  
Spoilers: Anything up to the end of "The I in Team" of season four of Buffy.  
  
Author's note: I am aware of the formatting problems at the moment and apologise profoundly. For some reason beyond my simple grasp of PC knowledge, MicrosoftWord has decided to stop working and I can't find the CD to reinstall it! So I've been having to write on WordPad and I'm trying a number of techniques to resolve this issue. Failing that, as soon as I get MSWord reinstalled I'll have the last few chapters reformatted and replaced. I thank you for your perserverence and have only this to say......please have patience, puh-leaseeeeeeeee!!!  
  
  
  
Chapter 5: The Calm Before The Storm  
  
  
  
Agarta sat at his desk, ruminating on what his master had decided. How could he take this from him! How could he? He had spent his whole life preparing, under-going countless rituals and tests of faith, only for it to come to this.  
  
Without looking, he reached out with his left hand and grasped a glass, raising it to his lips only to discover that it was empty. He sighed and placed it back down. Besides, this was no time to feel sorry, he had rituals to perform and contingencies to prepare. These Federationites would prove troublesome, he had to find a way to keep their effectivness neutralised or it would all be for nothing.  
  
He stood and walked out of his small office, the only private space he had, approaching three cultists who were gathered together preparing to cast a spell over the building and it's surrounding area. One of the warlocks saw him approach and stood straighter, the others turning to face Agarta in the same instance.  
  
"The spell is almost ready to be cast, Father" he said, his voice deep and gravelly.  
  
"Good, are you sure it will work?" he asked. If this spell failed then the coming task would become even harder than it already was, if not virtually impossible.  
  
"Quite certain Father" the ashen faced man replied.  
  
"For your sakes, I hope so. I dislike failure." His voice was cold and menacing, "As does our lord." he added. With satisfaction he saw the man blanche slightly at the implication that their lord might become angry with him personally. He walked away leaving the trio to their spell casting, watching now would only make them more nervous and that would be counter- productive. He had put the fear of a god into them and that would suffice to keep them inline.  
  
**********  
  
As the combat team gathered in the vast main hanger of the Initiatives underground complex Picard beckoned Riley to one side, his face serious.  
  
"I assume since you held us here that our shuttle is somewhere in the complex as well?" Riley looked at him for a moment and then it clicked,  
  
"You mean the craft that you crashed in?" he asked, needlessly he assumed, but better to be certain.  
  
"That is correct." Picard replied, somewhat shortly.  
  
Man, this guy's wound pretty tight thought Riley. But then again, who wouldn't be? Stranded not only in another time but another reality, thinking about it Riley decided that he too would probably be a little bit highly strung.  
  
"Yes, we have your craft in a secure facility." He answered the captain. Now was not the time to be keeping secrets. Besides, the question was a formality, he knew. That they had the craft was unquestionable since they had examples of all the loose equipment from it on hand. Picard looked at him quite seriously now,  
  
"I must ask you to halt any examinations that you may be performing on the craft immediately."  
  
Even though he had been expecting something like this Riley was still taken aback by the authority with which Picard issued his request, nay demand.  
  
"Why?" Riley asked in return, "That craft of yours contains highly advanced technology that could help turn the tide of battle against the demonic forces."  
  
"Exactly." Picard countered "And that technology is centuaries ahead of where you are currently. Although simply our presence here as undoubtably caused a high degree of temporal contamination I have to act to minimalize that contamination. Please cease your examinations." He could see the military commanders face was set in stone, as was his choice, it was glaringly obvious. So he played his only trump card.  
  
"Look, if you don't, we'll stun everyone in this facility, find the shuttle and remove it ourselves. You can seize the father yourselves."  
  
Rileys face paled slightly. He had seen the effectiveness of their weapons. He stepped closer to Picard and spoke quitely, almost inaudibly.  
  
"Are you threatening me and my men, Captain?"  
  
"Of course not, Finn." Picard replied evenly "I am simply laying the situation out for you. I would be guilty of gross misconduct to leave that shuttle in the hands of your orginisation. Please have all research discontinued and the area where it is located sealed and guards placed at all entry points."  
  
Riley sighed. He really didn't have much choice, there was no way they could stop this coming apocalypse if they were all stunned into unconciousness.  
  
"Very well Captain, if you insist."  
  
"I do."  
  
Riley turned and stalked away to issue the orders. Picard watched his retreating back for a few moments. He hadn't liked having to do that. but as he had told Finn, it was his responsibility to reduce the contamination that their presence in this timeline was undoubtably causing.  
  
**********  
  
Riker and the others sat silently in the shuttle as it rose through the sky, heading back to orbit and the Enterprise. The shuttles sensors had been blinded momentarily by whatever had destroyed the aircraft, but repairs to the Enterprise should have been at least partly complete now. The starships powerful sensors should have recorded the events that had unfolded below.  
  
But communications were, for some reason, down. Geordie believed that it may have been residual interference from whatever anomaly had destroyed the aircraft, so they were trying to rise above it.  
  
As the atmosphere thinned to the blackness of space the console gave a beep and the communcation channel came to life.  
  
"Enterprise to Phoenix, it is reassuring to see that you are intact." Datas' voice came through clearly.  
  
"The feelings mutual Enterprise. Did your sensors record anything unusual about forty minutes ago?"  
  
"They did Commander. An energy distortion of unkn..." Riker interupted the Enterprises' acting captain,  
  
"Data, just transmit all of the available sensor data to the shuttle, we'll returning to the surface soon. Expect to loose communications again."  
  
"Acknowledged Commander, transmitting now."  
  
The control panel beeped as it confirmed receipt of the information. Then Riker had an idea,  
  
"Data, I want you to launch a couple of modified probes to act as communication boosters, see if we can't break through this interference."  
  
"Confirmed Commander. By my estimate, modifications to the probes will take approximately fifteen minutes."  
  
"Okay Data, speak to you soon." He closed the channel and once again the shuttle began it's descent.  
  
********** 


End file.
